[Note: This is Part 1 of a 6-part series looking at Paul’s letter to the Philippians.]

In our current culture, it’s quite rare to write actual letters. It’s too easy to send a text message, instant message, DM, or one of any number of “instant” options. In the time of the apostle Paul, however, letters were the chief means of communication with those in a different city. Paul knew how to pack a lot of information into a relatively short space.^[1] This is true even in the short letter to the Philippians. In this post, we’ll take a bird’s-eye view of the letter, focusing on its central theme: living out the gospel of Jesus.

About Philippi: Some Context

Philippi was located in the province of Macedonia about ten miles inland from the Aegean Sea. The original settlement was called Krenides, but in 356 B.C. the name was changed by Philip II, king of Macedonia, when he enlarged the city with many new inhabitants and considerable construction.

During the era of Roman rule, Philippi became a military colony in 42 B.C.; in 27 B.C., its status was again changed so that it received autonomous government, immunity from tribute, and treatment of its residents as if they actually lived in Italy. It was therefore one of the leading cities in the district of Macedonia (cf. Ac 16:12). The Via Egnatia, the main highway from Asia to the west, passed through Philippi and ran alongside the forum of the city. Near the city was the river Gangites.^[2] Historian John Pollock writes:

It was self-governing, a ‘little Rome’ that used Latin for all official business. It had a virile, brisk, no-nonsense air, the streets full of muscular young legionaries and hard-bitten veterans and their families, proud of the Roman eagle in forum and basilica. It was a place where Roman citizens were held in high honor.^[3]

Paul’s Time in Philippi

In Acts 16, we learn that Paul, Luke, and their party reached Philippi (probably sometime in A.D. 49-50; see The Life of Paul: A Timeline). There apparently was no synagogue, giving testimony that few Jews lived there. Luke, however, reports that they did find some women worshipping by the river, and the encounter led to the formation of the Philippian church. Though the church did not grow dramatically, it seems to have maintained a strong partnership with the apostle.

At some point Paul cast a demon out of a young slave girl, who was used as a fortune-teller for money. Her owners (note the plural, owners) were so angry they dragged Paul and Silas to the court, and the magistrate had them beaten with rods and thrown in jail (a highly illegal act, since they were both Roman citizens and hadn’t been convicted). While they were in prison, the area was hit with an earthquake that freed them–and all the other prisoners. This led to the conversion of the jailer, who later reported to the city officials that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. They left Philippi, and the church they founded continued to partner with them.

About the Author

The letter to the Philippians contains quite a lot of information about Paul, which Acts fleshes out nicely. (There are some debates about some things in his life, e.g., whether he was ever married, but those are of less importance.) Just from Philippians, we learn the following about the author:

• He was imprisoned when he wrote the letter (1:7, 13).^[4]
• The outcome of his imprisonment was uncertain (1:20-23; 2:17).
• He had impeccable Jewish credentials, including a persecutor of the early church (3:4-6).
• His life underwent a radical change when he encountered Jesus (Phil. 3:7-8).
• He had several close associates in his ministry, including Timothy and Epaphroditus (1:1; 2:19-30).
• He continued to have hope and joy in the midst of imprisonment (2:17; 4:11-13)

About the Letter’s Major Themes

Many find that Philippians is a letter about joy and rejoicing. No doubt that is true. John Pollock calls it “the happiest letter.” The word “rejoice” appears nine times in the letter (in the ESV, using two different Greek words). Joy is certainly one of the major themes of the letter.

However, joy cannot and does not exist in a vacuum. The other major theme of the letter (and I would argue, the central theme) is simply the gospel. Like “rejoice”, the word “gospel” appears nine times in the letter. The relationship between the gospel and joy is a simple one. The gospel brings joy. It is, after all, “good news.” There is one more theme, though, that we ought to consider, and that is the theme of suffering. As we noted, Paul was imprisoned when he wrote the letter, and he calls the Philippians “partners in the gospel” (1:5) and says they share “both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel” (1:7).

About the Gospel

Paul’s letter to the Philippians tells us quite a lot about the gospel. Before we get into the specifics, though, let’s look at the word itself. The word gospel means “good news.” In ancient Greek the word originally referred to “a reward for good tidings; later, the idea of reward dropped, and the word stood for ‘the good news’ itself.”^[5] In the New Testament, gospel refers to “the ‘good tidings’ of the kingdom of God and of salvation through Christ, to be received by faith, on the basis of His expiatory death, His burial, resurrection, and ascension.”^[6] The idea is that the “kingdom of God” has arrived in the person of Jesus Christ, bringing salvation to all who repent and turn to Him in faith. As part of the kingdom, God is restoring all things to Himself through the work of the gospel.

If we only had the letter to the Philippians, what would it tell us about the gospel?

• The gospel is the good news of Christ Himself. In Phil. 1:15-18, Paul equates the gospel with the preaching of Christ. Likewise, in 2:6-11, Paul shows that the gospel centers on Jesus’ incarnation, humility, obedience unto death, and exaltation.
• The gospel displays God’s righteousness through faith, not works. In Phil. 3:8-9, Paul shows that the righteousness he seeks to obtain is found in faith through the gospel, not works of the law.
• The gospel gives a new identity and purpose. The gospel transfers our citizenship from “this world” and makes us “citizens of heaven” (Phil. 3:20-21). In 3:10-14, Paul’s entire life purpose is altered by the gospel.
• The gospel demands and produces unity and humility. Paul calls believers to unity and humility, putting others first, because Christ Himself modeled that self-giving love (Phil. 2:1-4).
• The gospel produces partnership among believers. Paul reminds the Philippians that they are in partnership with him for the sake of the gospel, and he thanks them that their partnership was expressed in financial support (Phil. 1:5; 4:15-16).
• The gospel brings joy and peace regardless of circumstances. Joy flows from the gospel, not from favorable conditions. The believer’s peace comes from Christ’s lordship, secured through the gospel (Phil. 1:4, 18; 4:4-7).
• The gospel bears fruit in holiness and love. Love abounding in knowledge and discernment leads to “the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:9-11), and those transformed by the gospel “shine as lights in the world,” holding fast to the word of life (Phil. 2:12-16).
• The gospel advances, even in times of suffering. Paul tells the Philippians that his imprisonment has only served to advance the gospel (Phil. 1:12-14), and that they (and by extension we) are called to suffer for Christ as a testimony to the gospel (Phil. 1:29-30).
• The gospel will ultimately triumph. There are few promises better than “he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. . . .  at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 1:6; 2:10–11)

As we study Philippians in the following posts, keep this statement in mind:

Living out the gospel in the midst of suffering produces an unshakeable joy.

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^[1] Of the 13 New Testament letters typically attributed to him, only 3 are more than 6 chapters in length. The average number of words (in the Greek) for the three longer letters (Romans-2 Corinthians) is about 6100, whereas the average word count for the remaining ten letters (Galatians-Philemon) is about 1400. Thus, the three longer letters contain about 56% of all Paul’s content in Scripture.

^[2] Kenneth L. Barker, Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Abridged Edition: New Testament) (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1994), 787.

^[3] John Pollock, The Apostle: A Life of Paul (Colorado Spring, CO: David C. Cook Publishing, 2013), 123.

^[4] That Paul was imprisoned when he wrote the letter is undisputed. The place of his imprisonment, however, is debatable. The traditional view is that he wrote the letter from Rome. My own view, though, is that he wrote it from Ephesus, perhaps as early as A.D. 53. See The Life of Paul: A Timeline.

^[5] W. E. Vine, Merrill F. Unger, and William White Jr., Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Nashville, TN: T. Nelson, 1996), 275.

^[6] Vine, 275.